We are about halfway through the calendar year and Baltimore City has climbed to 157 murders in 2017 so far. That is leading us to an estimated 314 murders for the entire year, making it just behind 2016, which had 318 murders, the 2nd highest in Baltimore history. These two would be behind the 2015 for the most killings in a year, which was sparked by the Freddy Gray incident. This would mean that the last 3 years have been the most deadly in Baltimore history, putting pressure on local government and police to contain this outbreak in deaths. The Baltimore police have began implementing 12 hour shifts for their officers to help patrol the streets of Baltimore neighborhoods.
The latest victim in the shootings is Sebastian Dvorak, a 27 year old who was gunned down on Boston Street in the popular Canton neighborhood. There is no answer for the reason behind the shooting thus far. Sebastin father came out and said, “The senselessness of this violence, I’m at a loss words,” said David Dvorak. This seems to be a trend in the recent rise in shootings the past few years. Many gunmen have been careless with not only who they are shooting, but others who may be involved. In 2016, the Baltimore Sun reported on a story of thirteen year old boy who was hit in the crossfire of an attack, after walking home to wash windshields to collect extra money. The father of the 13 year old boy went on to comment, "They don't care who they shoot anymore," said Ronnie Barnes, as he looked through his son's left-behind baseball gear. His son had a fantastic pitching arm, he said, but that promise is gone now. "They shoot women and children and everybody."
This is a terrible tragedy that no person should have to endure. So what are the next steps to improve these shootings? 2 things: the police need to try there best to keep these types of criminals off of the street, and the local government should have some say in the matter as well. Perhaps more funding for the police to take care of these shootings. However, the second part to improve is the community itself. The police can only cover so much ground, so the community needs to step up and help the police catch these criminals.
If you or anyone else you know has been injured in an attack, please contact the Law Offices of Nick Del Pizzo to help you through the court proceedings.